Heisey posts second straight three-hit game

ATLANTA -- Chris Heisey has been searching for his swing all season, his mechanics off since Spring Training.

"I just hadn't been able to get comfortable," the Reds outfielder said.

Then something clicked Monday night in the series opener against the Braves.

Heisey had two doubles and a single in the 3-1 victory, his last hit a run-scoring double that produced a key insurance run in the eighth inning.

As far as Heisey was concerned, though, the three hits were almost like a bonus.

"It's been a struggle, but I finally felt right," said Heisey, who got his third straight start in left field for Tuesday night's series finale with the Braves and produced three hits again in the 6-2 loss.

"When your mechanics are there, everything falls into place. You think you can hit anyone. When they're not, you feel overmatched."

Heisey hit .254 with 18 homers and 50 RBIs in 120 games last year. But he came into the Braves series batting .200 with no homers and five RBIs in 27 games.

With Ryan Ludwick hitting .184 in 23 games, the Reds outfield had a major hole offensively.

"We've been waiting on someone in left field to have some good days," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Heisey did, raising his average to .233 with the 3-for-3 effort on Monday and to .260 by going 3-for-4 on Tuesday.

"That was the best day Heisey's had this year," Baker said of the series opener. "He tends to be kind of streaky, so hopefully he'll go on a good streak."

Baker: 'I hate to have Chipper go'

ATLANTA -- Reds manager Dusty Baker was once considered the heir apparent to Hank Aaron and, like Chipper Jones about 25 years later, a future building block with the Braves.

But Baker went on to play for the Dodgers, Giants and A's, while Jones has spent his entire career in Atlanta.

Jones is retiring after this season, and the Reds, like other teams, will pay tribute to the future Hall of Famer when the Braves come to Cincinnati for a four-game series beginning Monday.

"I hate to have Chipper go," Baker said. "It's hard to imagine Chipper is 40 years old. ... He's still young at heart."

Jones' rookie year with the Braves was 1995, and Baker has managed against him with either the Giants, Cubs or Reds every season except one.

Asked to reflect on Jones' career, the manager said, "The dude's done about everything. He's hit doubles, homers -- he's been clutch, man. Gone from third [base] to left [field], back to third. He's one of the premier switch-hitters of all time."

Reds prepare for extended stay in Big Apple

ATLANTA -- In what is sure to be a challenge to the per diems of players and staff, the Reds will spend five straight days in New York City because of a scheduling quirk.

After playing games against the Mets on Wednesday and Thursday, the Reds will stay in the Big Apple for a three-game Interleague series against the Yankees over the weekend.

According to STATS LLC, it is the seventh time since Interleague Play began in 1997 that a visiting team will play both Major League teams in a shared market consecutively.

It last happened in 2009. The Padres played the Dodgers and Angels that season, and the Pirates faced the White Sox and Cubs.

Reds manager Dusty Baker doesn't remember ever having a five-day stay in the same road city before, and he's not exactly overjoyed that it will happen in the Big Apple.

"You have to monitor your sleep there," Baker said. "Hotel noise. Street noise. People coming and going at all hours. Even if you don't go out it's noisy. It's not an easy place to play."

Rose subject of documentary video short

ATLANTA -- Former Reds star and manager Pete Rose is the subject of an eight-minute video posted Tuesday on Grantland.com in conjunction with the announcement that the ESPN documentary series "30 for 30" is returning this September on the cable network.

Rose, suspended in 1989 after being accused of betting on baseball and barred from the Hall of Fame as a result, is most remembered for his record 4,256 hits. But in the video short directed by Eric Drath as part of a "Here Now" series, the 71-year-old Cincinnati native brings up another number.

"If you wanna put something on my tombstone that's very important to me, it's 1,972," Rose says. "That's how many winning games I played in, and that makes me the biggest winner in the history of sports."

Worth noting

 Joey Votto drew a pair of walks in the series opener Monday, marking the third time in four games and the sixth time this year the Reds first baseman had drawn multiple free passes.

 The teams combined to go 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position during the Reds' 3-1 victory over the Braves on Monday. The Braves were 0-for-5, and the Reds were 2-for-12 thanks to run-scoring doubles by Brandon Phillips and Chris Heisey in the eighth inning.

 Todd Frazier, filling in for Scott Rolen, got his fourth straight start at third base on Tuesday against the Braves. It was his eighth start there this season. Rolen, who went on the DL with a strained left shoulder Saturday, is eligible to return May 27.

Guy Curtright is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.